Groopert's Laboratory
Groopert's Laboratory is an American animated series created by Andrew Auld for Nickelodeon. It follows Groopert, a boy-genius and inventor with a hidden laboratory in his room, which he keeps secret from his parents. He is in a constant battle with his older sister Cindy, who always finds a way to get inside Groopert's lab and inadvertently foil his experiments. Initially, only four seasons were planned, but the popularity of the series led to Nickelodeon ordering a three more seasons. A TV movie, Groopert's Laboratory: Ego Trip, premiered on September 15, 2000. Groopert's Laboratory became one of Nickelodeon's most beloved and critically acclaimed series, renowned for its character development and serious themes. During its run, the series was nominated for three Annie Awards and one Motion Picture Sound Editors Award. Spin-off media included comics, DVD releases, video games, music albums, and collectible toys. Reruns have aired on Nickelodeon's animation sister channel Nicktoons until June 1, 2013. Premise Main article: List of Groopert's Laboratory characters The series revolves around Groopert a bespectacled boy-genius who possesses a secret laboratory hidden behind a bookcase in his bedroom. The laboratory is filled with Groopert's inventions and can be accessed by speaking passwords or by activating hidden switches on Groopert's bookshelf (e.g. pulling out a specific book). Though highly intelligent, Groopert often fails at what he sets out to do when he becomes overexcited and makes careless choices. Although he comes from a typical American family, Groopert speaks with a thick accent of indeterminate origin. Groopert manages to keep his lab a secret from his clueless mother and Dad, who never take notice of it. However, he is frequently in conflict with his hyperactive older sister, Cindy. In spite of Groopert's advanced technology, Cindy eludes security, and once inside her brother's laboratory, she delights in playing haphazardly, wreaking havoc with his inventions. Though seemingly dim-witted, Cindy outsmarts her brother and even gives him helpful advice. For his part, Groopert, though annoyed by his intrusive sibling, feels a reluctant affection for her and will come to her defense if she is imperiled. Production Creator Andrew Auld came up with the concept for Groopert's Laboratory in 1990, envisioning a story where a white creature meets a real human from the real Planet Earth in a world of humans and imaginary creatures and monsters. Auld began working on Groopert's Laboratory in August 1993 to develop the idea and bring the show to Nickelodeon. As the rest of the Nickelodeon team were working on Rocko's Modern Life, only few of the animators were allocated to the project. The rest of the team began work on GL ''as well after the release of ''Rocko. During the show's development, the show was originally called Groopert's Exclamatory!. Other titles that had been considered include, among others Groopert the Genius, Groopert., and Groopert and Cindy. On November 20, 1995, it was revealed that the show's title was changed to Groopert's Laboratory. Some of the show's crew members included various writers from Nickelodeon's other show CatDog ''(which premiered the year after ''Groopert's Laboratory came out), including Steven Banks, Kit Boyce and Robert Lamoreaux. The series was officially announced at Nickelodeon's upfront on December 12, 1996. It was originally planned to premiere in October 1997,10 but was later pushed back to September 20. Episodes Main article: List of Groopert's Laboratory episodes Reception Critical reception Groopert's Laboratory has received critical acclaim from critics and audiences, and became one of Nickelodeon's top rated and most popular series. Ratings Groopert's Laboratory debuted on Nickelodeon on September 20, 1997 at 11:00 AM ET/PT. The show charted double-digit increases with Boys 6–11 in ratings and delivery for Nickelodeon's Saturdays programming block.16 During the following week, the show became the network's top-rated hit for kids 6–11. It also increased Cartoon Network's audience among that age group by 49% over the previous year.17 Awards and nominations Coming soon! Merchandise Home media Video games * Groopert's Laboratory (1999) for Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast, and Game Boy Color * Groopert's Laboratory: Fists of Fury (1999) for Nintendo 64 and Microsoft Windows * Groopert's Laboratory: House Trap (1999) for the PlayStation * Groopert's Laboratory: Cindy Attacks! (2000) for Game Boy Color * Groopert's Laboratory: Cindy Hunt (2001) for Game Boy Color * Groopert's Laboratory: Time Madness (2002) for PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows * Groopert's Laboratory: War of the Whiskers (2002) for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube * Groopert's Laboratory: Infurnal Escape (2003) for Game Boy Advance Music releases Groopert's Laboratory has spawned two music albums, The Musical Time Machine and The Hip-Hop Experiment, three hip hop music videos, and a fourth music video by They Might Be Giants for "Cindy and Groopert", which features Japanese-style animation produced by Klasky Csupo, who was best known for producing various animated shows for Nickelodeon, such as Rugrats, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and As Told by Ginger. Publications Books set in Groopert's Laboratory were released by Scholastic and Golden Books. These books were: Under "Groopert's Laboratory": :# Groopert's Ink (2002) by Howie Dewin (ISBN 0-439-38579-2) :# Cin-Terminator (2002) by Bobbi J. G. Weiss and David Cody Weiss (ISBN 0-439-38580-6) :# Dr. Cindy & Groopert Hyde (2002) by Meg Belviso and Pam Pollack (ISBN 0-439-43422-X) :# I Dream of Groopert (2003) by Meg Belviso and Pam Pollack (ISBN 0-439-43423-8) :# The Incredible Shrinking Groopert ''(2003) by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso (ISBN 0-439-43424-6) :# ''Groopert's Big Switch (2003) by Meg Belviso and Pamela Pollack (ISBN 0-439-44947-2) :: Horse of a Different Groopert ''(2002) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss (ISBN 0-439-38581-4) :: ''Knights of the Periodic Table (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss (ISBN 0-439-43425-4) :: Cootie Wars (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss (ISBN 0-439-44932-4) :: Brain Power (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss (ISBN 0-439-44942-1) :: Zappo Change-O (2001, by Golden Books) by Genndy Tartakovsky (ISBN 0-307-99812-6) Five of these were unnumbered, at least on their covers. Under "Groopert's Laboratory Science Log": :# Cindy's Amazing Bones (2002) by Anne Capeci (ISBN 0-439-44175-7) :# Mixed-Up Magnetism (2002) by Anne Capeci (ISBN 0-439-38582-2) :# What's the "Matter" with Cindy? (2003) by Anne Capeci (ISBN 0-439-47240-7) :# Little Lab or Horrors (2003) by Anne Capeci (ISBN 0-439-47242-3) Publication details and book covers are on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Related books, which are not storybooks are: :: Groopert's Laboratory: Science Fair Showdown! (2001, Golden Books) by Chip Lovitt, a collection of science fair projects. (ISBN 0-307-10775-2) :: Delta Education's Project Energy, Eye Spy and Balancing Act from 2003 :: Groopert's Joke Book For Geniuses, (2004, Scholastic) by Howie Dewin (ISBN 0-439-54582-X ) In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Nickelodeon to produce comics based on its properties. Groopert's Laboratory was one title announced to be published. Its first issue was released in April 2014. Toys and promotions In November 1998, Burger King promoted Groopert's Laboratory with six collectible toys called "Groopert's Lab Creation", "Groopert's Green Test Tube Straw", "Groopert's Grabber", "Groopert's Purple Spark Maker", "Groopert's Pen Stand", and "Groopert's Yellow Noisemaker" in their kids' meals. Trendmasters released a series of Groopert's Lab figures and playsets in 2001.117118 Six kids' meal toys were sold during an April 2001 Dairy Queen promotion. The following April, a similar promotion featured Groopert's Laboratory-themed AirHeads packs and an online sweepstakes.121 Burger King promoted Groopert's Laboratory from April 1 to May 15, 2002, with four kids' meal toys. Race to the Brainergizer and The Incredible Invention Versus Cindy, two board games, were released by Pressman Toy Corporation in 2001. Category:TV Shows Category:EvanRocks Wiki